Victor’s POV
The weight of expectation hung heavy in the air as I stood in the grand foyer of the Ashford estate.
My mother’s presence commanded the space like it always did- imperious, unyielding, impossible to ignore.
“When is she coming home?” Charlotte Ashford voice cut through the silence, sharp and demanding.
She stood with her hand resting on the antique mahogany table, her eyes studying me with the precision of someone who’d spent a lifetime reading people.
“You know your father made it abundantly clear in his will. No leadership transition without a wife at your side.”
The mention of my father twisted something deep in my chest.
I’d learned to compartmentalize that pain years ago, to lock it away in a corner of my mind where it couldn’t interfere with business.
But some days-some nights-it still clawed its way back to the surface.
That night.
The accident.
The moment everything changed.
I forced the memory away before it could consume me.
Not now.
Not in front of my mother.
“She’s coming, Mother,” I said, and there was something in my tone that made my mom’s expression shift slightly.
Satisfaction, perhaps.
Or recognition of a truth she’d suspected all along.
“Very soon, in fact.”
She moved toward me with that characteristic grace, her Chanel perfume arriving before she did.
Even at sixty-two, she commanded attention with effortless authority.
She reached up and gripped my collar, pulling me down to meet her gaze directly.
“Next weekend, Victor. I expect to meet your wife next weekend.” Her breath was warm against my ear, her words non-negotiable.
“The board is already asking questions. They need to see that you’re stable. That you’re committed to the future of this family and this company.”
I watched her leave, gliding toward her Rolls-Royce with the bearing of someone entirely accustomed to getting exactly what they wanted.
And she would get it.
I’d make certain of that.
I slid into the driver’s seat of my Aston Martin, preferring the solitude of driving myself despite my security team’s constant protests.
My fingers moved across the phone’s screen, dialing Karen’s number before I’d even fully processed the decision.
“Karen, I need you to confirm something for me,” I said without preamble.
“Are all the arrangements in place for today?”
“Yes, sir, but…” She paused, and I could hear the curiosity threading through her voice.
“Who exactly are we preparing for? The level of detail you’ve requested is… unusual.”
“You’ll understand soon enough,” I replied, ending the call before she could ask more questions.
The headquarters of Ashford Industries rose before me like a monument to ambition itself- fifteen stories of glass and steel, today transformed into something almost magical.
The red carpets stretched from the entrance gates inward, threading through arrangements of flowers that must have cost a small fortune.
Everything was perfect.
Everything was precisely as I’d envisioned it.
The workers bowed as I passed through the lobby, their acknowledgments barely registering.
My attention was elsewhere, searching the crowd for one specific face.
Her car should have arrived by now.
Where was she?
I took the elevator to my office on the top floor, my mind already replaying the past few years like a film on loop.
The day Miriam walked into my office to interview for a position, I’d known immediately.
There was something about her-intelligence mixed with vulnerability, ambition tempered with integrity.
She was rare.
She was exactly what I’d been searching for without even knowing it.
Years.
I’d waited years, watching her excel in her role, knowing she was meant for something far greater.
And then she’d married Williams Castellano, and I’d nearly destroyed myself with scotch and rage and bitter regret.
But fate was funny that way.
It delivered second chances to those determined enough to seize them.
Through the windows, I caught sight of her car pulling into the garage.
The sight of that modest Corrola stirred something protective and possessive in equal measure.
Not for much longer.
I’d already commissioned a vehicle that would be far more appropriate for what she was about to become.
Karen appeared at my office door, her expression carefully neutral.
“The boardroom is ready. Everyone’s waiting.”
I nodded, taking a moment to center myself.
What I was about to do would change everything- for her, for the company, for both of us.
The boardroom was a cathedral to power and success.
The Brazilian rosewood table gleamed under carefully positioned lighting, the leather chairs were works of art, and today the space was filled with flowers that perfumed the air with expensive subtlety.
But none of it mattered the moment Miriam entered.
The first thing I noticed was the darkness in her eyes.
The shadow that hadn’t been there before.
Something had happened.
“Please, everyone be seated,” I commanded, settling into my chair at the head of the table.
My voice carried the authority of someone used to absolute obedience.
“I’ve gathered you here today because I believe in recognizing excellence. In this company, dedication is rewarded. Success is celebrated.”
The applause was automatic, conditioned.
None of them understood yet what was about to happen.
“You see these decorations?” I gestured around the room with deliberate slowness.
“They represent change. Transformation. Ashford Industries is entering a new phase, and that requires shifts in our leadership structure. I’m stepping back from direct operational management…”
The murmurs started immediately, but I silenced them with a look that had ended countless boardroom arguments before they could begin.
“I will remain involved, of course. But growth demands fresh vision. New perspective. And I’ve identified the perfect person to lead us into the future.”
I paused, letting the tension build, letting them all wait in anticipation.
“You’re all dismissed. Except you, Miriam. There are matters we need to discuss privately.”
The room emptied quickly.
I caught Karen”s expression as she left- something that might have been resentment or suspicion.
I made a mental note to address that situation eventually.
But not today.
The moment the door closed, I studied Miriam more carefully.
The designer suit couldn’t hide the tension in her shoulders, the way she held herself like she was barely holding together.
The shadow in her eyes was darker up close, more pronounced.
“Coffee?” I asked, pressing the button that would summon my assistant.
Within moments, two cups of Italian roast arrived in bone china that cost more than most people’s monthly salary.
She thanked me but didn’t touch the cup.
Her hands were trembling slightly as she set it down.
“Victor,” she said, then corrected herself.
“Sir, I…”
“Just Victor,” I interrupted gently.
I pulled out my phone and sent a quick message to security.
No interruptions.
No exceptions.
“You seem different today, Miriam. Something’s wrong.”
She lifted those eyes to meet mine, and I saw it clearly for a moment-raw pain, deep betrayal, something that had shattered inside her.
Then the mask went back up.
“I’m fine. Just tired.”
She was lying, but I didn’t press.
Not yet.
Instead, I retrieved the leather portfolio from my briefcase and slid it across the table toward her.
“I have something I want you to look at.”
Her hands shook as she opened it.
I watched her eyes move across the document, watched them widen as she absorbed what she was reading.
CEO.
Ashford Industries.
A salary that would make her wealthy beyond anything she could have imagined on her own.
“This is…” she started, her voice barely a whisper.
“Exactly what you deserve,” I finished.
“You’ve been the real engine of this company for years, Miriam. It’s time the title and compensation reflected that reality.”
I stood and moved to the windows, looking out at the sprawl of the city.
“Do you know what I see out there?” I didn’t wait for an answer.
“I see what I’ve built. But I also see what I want to build next. Something bigger. Something that requires someone exceptional. Someone with both intellect and heart.”
I turned back to face her.
“I see you.”
Tears glistened in her eyes, but she blinked them away before they could fall.
“The announcement happens next week at a board meeting,” I continued, my voice steady and sure.
“After that, we make it public at my mother’s charity gala. Everyone important will be there. Everyone who needs to know that you’re not just a CEO- you’re my choice for the future. My partner.”
“Your mother’s gala?” she asked, and something flickered across her face.
“She’s eager to meet you,” I said, which was technically true.
What I didn’t mention was that my Mum had no idea who she was about to meet, only that her son was finally fulfilling the terms of his father’s will.
“It’s time you understood the full scope of what I’m offering you.”
My phone buzzed.
Ariel.
Again.
I silenced it without looking.
Whatever urgency my childhood friend thought she had could wait.
I reached back into my briefcase and withdrew another set of documents.
Keys.
A Bentley key fob.
“Your new car,” I said, sliding it across the table.
“As CEO of Ashford Industries, you won’t be driving anything less than perfection.”
“Victor, I can’t…”
“You can,” I said firmly.
“And you will. This is part of who you’re about to become, Miriam. The woman who stands beside me. The woman who commands respect. The woman who has everything.”
I moved closer, close enough to see the flecks of gold in her eyes, close enough to catch her perfume beneath the corporate scent of the boardroom.
“I want to give you everything. The world. Security. Power. All you have to do is trust me. Can you do that?”
She stood abruptly, gathering her things.
“I need time. I need to think about this. All of this.”
“Of course,” I said, though every possessive instinct inside me wanted to keep her here, to demand answers, to extract the truth about what had happened to her.
“Take the car. Feel what it’s like to have the best. That’s all I ask.”
I watched her leave, then sat back down in my chair.
The coffee cup she’d left behind was still warm.
I stared at it for a long moment, then pulled up the security feed on my tablet.
She moved through the building like a ghost, avoiding eye contact, her stride mechanical.
Something had broken inside her.
Something or someone had done this.
The knowledge twisted my gut, fired a protective rage through my veins that was almost primal in its intensity.
My phone buzzed again.
The private investigator.
The one I’d had following Williams Castellano for months.
I’d justified it as business intelligence.
As due diligence.
But really, I’d been waiting.
Waiting for proof that I needed to intervene.
Waiting for an excuse to pull Miriam fully into my world and away from whatever danger was closing in around her.
“Urgent updates on the Castellano situation,” the message read.
“Critical information regarding his associates and recent activities.”
I opened the file and read through the details carefully.
My blood went cold, then hot with fury.
Williams Castellano wasn’t just a cheating husband.
He was connected.
Deeply connected to people I knew.
People who operated in shadow markets.
People who would hurt anyone who stood in their way.
And Miriam was married to him.
I immediately typed back: “Everything. I want every detail. Every connection. Every secret he’s ever kept. Send it all.”
Now we have seen the side of Victor, he is Definitely going to be a good Husband in paper .
He had already being investigated her ex husband even right from this ,now that he requested for more investigation.
what is going to happen next .
Let’s find out in the next chapter
Thanks for Reading.
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